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Figure 5 Prevention of rapid electrical stimulation (RES)-induced connexin (Cx)43 upregulation by losartan. (A) Connexin43 protein levels before (0 min) and after RES for 60 min and 90 min in the absence (solid bars) and presence (hatched bars) of 100 nmol/l losartan (Western analysis). Connexin43 amount was normalized to control protein (means ± SD, n = 8). (B) Connexin43 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels before (0 min) and after RES for 60 min and 90 min (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction). Connexin43 mRNA amount was normalized to GAPDH (mean ± SD, n = 8). (C) Immunofluorescence signals of Cx43 before (0 min) and after RES for 30 to 90 min. (Top) Representative confocal images. (Bottom) The proportion of total cell area occupied by Cx43 immunoreactive signal. Values were normalized to baseline (mean ± SD, n = 8). **p < 0.01 vs. baseline.